Because it’s the end of the semester (next week is the last week of classes!) and so close to finals (the following week!), I had to take it one step further. This year, I had to make a to-do grid.

A to-do list is just a list of everything I have to do. I always break it down into component parts so I can see exactly how much I have to do and, of course, cross off things when they’re complete. (For example, “grade” is never on my list. However, “grade x for class y” is.) When I do so, I usually have a good idea of where I need to start.

But that just was not happening. In fact, writing my list just made me more confused. In fact, I wrote it on my office white board AND in my planning notebook to no avail. I was just overwhelmed by it all.

That’s when I figured out I needed a grid.

On the grid, I organized everything by the actual date I need to have it complete. Since it’s the end of the semester, I put the dates of all my classes and the final exams, what my students were turning in each day for each class, and what I need to either have prepped or graded for each class on that particular day.

As soon as I was done, I felt much better. I went from “omg, I have so much to do” to “hmm, I need to do x.”

I have also managed to clear four items off my grid in the past two days, which is huge considering I hadn’t started on anything before that and I made my first to-do list early in the week.

I like your grid idea. I used to swear by an A – B – C column list, but got out of the habit for some reason. I think if I added your grid idea to my three columns I’d either be the most efficient version of myself ever– or confused out of my mind…